Starting Semester 3
I have commenced my third semester at university and am currently studying computer systems and security.
The first assignment
My first assignment is already underway. It uses the Little Man Computer, or LMC, to introduce assembly language and the way a computer executes low-level instructions.
The assignment involves working with concepts such as memory addresses, input and output, accumulators, branching, loops, and storing data in mailboxes. Compared with the higher-level languages I normally use, assembly requires every step of the program to be planned explicitly.
Thinking at a lower level
It has been a useful change in perspective. Instead of only thinking about what a program should do, I am learning more about how instructions, memory, and the processor work together underneath the software.
Beginning to click
There is still plenty to learn, but the assignment is beginning to make more sense as I build and debug each section.